Crime

Aztec mystery

I thought historical mysteries had already plundered every period and place (with the exception of prehistoric times), and then two original settings emerge in the same month. Tom Harper travels to Byzantium with The Mosaic of the Shadows (Century, £12.99), but pride of place must go to this, the first Aztec mystery series.

It's Mexico in 1517, or rather Tenochtitlan in the year Twelve-House. Yaotl, the chief minister's trusted slave, is provoked into investigating the curious death of a sacrificial victim who ran amok and leapt to his death before he could be slain in the ritual Flowery Death. Then, more bodies appear and the Emperor Montezuma starts asking questions about sorcerers who have vanished from his impregnable prison. The adventure proves gripping and always surprising, and uses its historical background to perfection. A most rewarding read.

The Craze, by Paul Southern (Century, £9.99)

An interesting debut by a Mancunian academic with a strong background in rock music, this is a taut example of Manchester noir and a worthy look at the shady interactions between white, black and Asian culture in the crime capital of England.

The discovery of Shazia Ahmed's body on the tracks - burned, the tongue cut out and a finger removed - is the grisly conclusion to the young woman's accidental encounter with an Asian underworld where kidnappings, drugs and murder are commonplace. Meanwhile, Jamie Farrell is feebly fighting against the current of crime that has been his lot since birth. Car heists, armed robbery, arson, switchblade hits and that extra score that will change lives ever beckoning over the horizon - these are the repetitive but realistic signposts in a depressing but fascinating landscape.

· Maxim Jakubowski's Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer is published by The Do-Not Press